


by the sea and sand

by gothyringwald



Series: S15/future Destiel Fix-Its [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Day At The Beach, Established Relationship, Everybody Lives, Fix-It, Fluff, M/M, Minor Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, POV Dean Winchester, ignores the finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28741491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothyringwald/pseuds/gothyringwald
Summary: There’s a breeze blowing down the bay and the tang of salt in the air and it’s, well, peaceful. As peaceful as Dean has ever known. Dean waits for the restlessness to come, but there’s nothing there. Maybe the waves have washed it away.(Dean finally gets his day at the beach with his family)
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: S15/future Destiel Fix-Its [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026505
Comments: 24
Kudos: 147





	by the sea and sand

**Author's Note:**

> Just another Dean finally gets his day at the beach fic :)
> 
> Diverges after either 15x18 or 15x19 - Cas is back from The Empty, somehow, Jack isn’t god but they still defeated Chuck…also somehow XD
> 
> Some of Dean’s thoughts in this could be read as a bit of lingering homophobia/biphobia - it’s not a lot and the fic is mostly just fluff, but wanted to mention it! (It doesn’t feel strong enough to warrant a tag but ymmv so I’m happy to add it if anyone else thinks it’s needed)

Waves lap at the shore, gracing it with their kiss, only to withdraw coyly moments later. But they always return, over and over, inevitable and true. They tickle Dean’s toes where they’re sunk into the silky sand, cooling his sun-warmed skin.

There’s a breeze blowing down the bay and the tang of salt in the air and it’s, well, peaceful. As peaceful as Dean has ever known. Dean waits for the restlessness to come, but there’s nothing there. Maybe the waves have washed it away. The heat of the sun is starting to turn from pleasant to biting, though, and Dean considers retreating to the giant beach umbrella they’d set up earlier.

The umbrella. The damn thing is rainbow, like they need to _advertise_ — Dean sighs and runs a hand over his face. Jack had chosen it because rainbows are pretty, and Cas had agreed; Sam and Eileen didn’t care. So, Dean had merely grumbled under his breath, ignoring the warmth in his cheeks as the giant rainbow umbrella stuck out of their cart like a blinking neon sign. _Hey, world, I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m going to the beach with my boyfriend and our kid._

Dean lets out a long breath. It’s only an umbrella. And it’s not wrong, anyway. His gaze drops from the dazzling line of the horizon to where his arms rest over his knees. They’re a little pink, despite the sunscreen Cas had insisted on before he’d let Dean leave their motel room. Dean had protested—‘We’re not even outside yet!’ ‘Sunscreen doesn’t work immediately, Dean, you have to do it before you go outside’—and then let Cas slather it all over him.

A small smile tilts Dean’s lips at _this_ memory: Cas’s determined stare and how Dean could tell Cas knew he would give in. Then he remembers Cas’s hands on him, Cas’s long fingers and gentle palms rubbing the lotion into Dean’s arms, over his chest through the opening in his shirt. Cas kneeling as he worked it into Dean’s calves, the tips of Cas’s fingers dancing beneath the hems of Dean’s pineapple print shorts, teasing up his thighs.

A warmth that has nothing to do with the bright sun fills Dean and, for a moment, he thinks he might need to submerge himself in the ocean to cool off. But a few deep breaths of briny air is all it takes and then he stands, finally, bones popping as he stretches. He feels…calm. Relaxed. He turns, still smiling, and trudges up the sand to where they’d set up. He pauses a few feet away to take in the scene before him.

Cas and Jack are sitting in the sand—Cas crouching, hands dangling between his knees, Jack cross-legged and back straight—either side of a rather forlorn-looking sandcastle. It should be amusing, a mostly former angel of the lord and a Nephilim building a damn _sandcastle_ together, but something unfurls in Dean’s chest as he watches them. Something liquid warm and bright.

The dinky little plastic bucket with the shell-shaped shovel Dean had bought as a joke is sitting by Jack’s knee, and Cas is squinting at the heap of sand with a look on his face like he wants to smite it. Everything in Dean goes still—his breath, his heart, _everything_. A wave of love breaks over Dean, overwhelming and threatening to pull him under.

But then Cas looks over in his direction, expression clearing and making way for something Dean can only think of as _fond_ , and Dean’s breathing, his heart, kickstarts, his legs propelling him toward Cas before he even realises. ‘Having fun without me?’ he says.

‘Jack wanted to build a sandcastle.’ Cas nods at the vaguely castle-shaped mound of sand.

‘Had a feeling it wasn’t your idea,’ Dean says, with a wink.

Jack’s brow is furrowed beneath the wide brim of his straw hat. ‘It doesn’t look like a castle.’

It’s an understatement, but Dean stops himself from saying so. Instead, he reaches out to tip the brim of Jack’s hat down and says, ‘It’s getting there, kiddo.’ Jack pushes his hat back, smiling up at Dean; Cas throws Dean a grateful glance.

‘Do you want to help us?’ Jack says.

‘Uh…’ Dean shifts his weight and glances along the beach. It isn’t deserted but it’s not busy, it’s why Dean chose this spot. It’s not the thought of someone seeing him that gives him pause, though. It’s just…he’s never done this. He’s never built sandcastles and normally, he’d throw himself into it but something holds him back. Maybe there _is_ part of him that feels foolish at the thought of doing this at his age. So, he waves his hand and says, ‘Nah, you’ve got it covered,’ and retreats to the sanctuary of the garish beach umbrella.

Jack shrugs the dismissal off, but Cas gives him a considering look. Dean’s just glad Sam had gone off with Eileen to get lunch, not knowing what he’d do with _two_ all-too-knowing looks cast his way. A shudder runs through him at the thought, alone, and he looks out toward the ocean again.

It’s still warm beneath the umbrella’s shade, so Dean reaches into the cooler, fishing around the ice that’s mostly water, and grabbing the last beer. He pops the cap off and hopes Sam remembers to bring more. It goes down bitter and cold and bracing. Dean looks around the beach as he drinks, taking everything in.

There’s a woman a few feet down from them, peering past Dean to where Cas and Jack are working on their sandcastle. Dean raises his brow in her direction and she glances away, a beat too late. Dean rolls his eyes and pulls at his shirt—it matches his shorts, yellow pineapples and white hibiscus on a red background—letting warm air in. He gives up trying to cool off and glances back to Cas and Jack.

Cas is struggling with a crumbling wall and Dean says, ‘The defences could use some work,’ just to mess with him.

‘They’re fine, Dean,’ Cas says not looking up.

‘If you say so.’

‘I do,’ Cas says, ‘but if you think you can do better…be my guest.’

Dean is about to shoot another quip back when Jack says, quiet but matter-of-fact: ‘This isn’t a castle where people fight.’

Dean’s pulse jumps and he breaks away from his staring match with Cas to look over at Jack. ‘Huh?’

‘This is the castle where everyone lives _after_ the bad guys are defeated. It’s a…’ Jack trails off, then flashes a bright smile when he finally finds the words he’s after: ‘A happily ever after castle.’

The earnestness would almost embarrass Dean if Jack wasn’t so damn sweet about it. Dean swallows the last mouthful of beer, and says, ‘Then…I guess it’s a damn fine castle.’

Cas’s lips twitch. ‘I believe people sometimes decorate their sandcastles once they’re done.’

‘Decorate it? With what?’ Jack asks.

‘Twigs, shells, seaweed,’ Dean says and jerks his chin toward the expanse of sand around them. ‘You know, beach stuff.’

‘Oh.’ Jack’s eyes light up ‘Will you help us get some?’

‘Um—’ The woman Dean had given a look earlier is doing a poor job of pretending she’s not trying to listen in on them like they’re here for her entertainment. It pisses Dean off. Sure, maybe she’s not thinking anything _bad_ , maybe they’re cute or sweet to her. Or maybe she thinks they’re a bunch of nut-jobs. It doesn’t matter.

Dean grits his teeth and holds out a hand to take the bucket from Jack, saying, ‘Consider me on decoration duty,’ whatever was holding him back earlier gone, now.

‘I’ll come with you.’ Cas tilts to his feet, dusting down his shorts, which are the same Hawaiian pineapple print as Dean’s, but with a sky blue background. ‘I’d like to stretch my legs.’ He looks down at Jack and says, ‘Are you coming?’

’I—‘ Jack looks between Cas and the castle and gives a little shrug. ‘No, I’m OK here.’

‘OK.’

As they walk off, Dean sends the nosey woman a dirty look; she blinks and looks away. For good measure, Dean takes Cas’s hand, somehow feeling emboldened by her intrusive stares, no matter the intent behind them.

‘What are you looking at?’ Cas looks back over his shoulder, craning his neck.

‘Nothing.’ Dean tugs on Cas’s hand, drawing him farther along the beach. ‘Hey, here’s some shells.’

‘There are shells everywhere.’

‘Well, these are nice ones.’

Cas rolls his eyes, but there’s a smile playing at the corner of his lips, and he crouches with Dean, picking up some shells, discarding others. As Dean reaches to put a particularly nice, big shell in the bucket, Cas grabs his wrist. He’s squinting at Dean’s forearm, then looks up to Dean.

‘What?’

‘Did you forget to reapply the sunscreen?’

Dean snorts and pulls his arm away. ‘Jeez, what’s with the sunscreen obsession all of a sudden?’

‘It’s important.’

‘This coming from the guy who forgets to go to the bathroom sometimes.’

‘I do not _forget_.’ Cas huffs. ‘That makes it sound like I’m incontinent, Dean. I just find it inconvenient and annoying—’

‘Everyone’s gotta pee, Cas,’ Dean says, before Cas can go into the rant Dean knows is coming. He can’t believe he’s having this conversation. Again. ‘And maybe I think sunscreen is inconvenient.’

‘Sunburn is more inconvenient.’

Dean stares Cas down but he eventually, inevitably, wavers. ‘Fine, I’ll put more on when we get back.’

The smile Cas gives him, then, is self-satisfied and Dean rolls his eyes but he gets it, gets Cas’s concern. Cas is closer to human than angel, now, and sometimes freaks out about it. Dean tends to bear the brunt of it, with Cas nagging at him to take better care of himself, but it’s weirdly nice in a way. And part of him still feels guilty he wasn’t there for Cas last time, so if this is what it takes for Cas to adjust, then Dean can stand a little nagging.

He nudges his shoulder against Cas’s, smiling wide, and Cas leans into the touch.

They collect more shells and seaweed and then take them back to Jack to trim the castle. (Dean reapplies sunscreen under Cas’s watchful eye). Jack has just proudly stuck a twig with a piece of seaweed tied onto it in one of the turrets when a shadow falls over them.

Without looking up, Dean says, ‘Hey, move it, your Sasquatch shadow is blocking our light.’

‘Thanks for getting us lunch, Sam’—Sam pitches Dean’s sandwich at him—‘Oh, that’s fine, it wasn’t any trouble at all.’

‘Glad to hear it,’ Dean says, tearing open the waxed paper and biting into his sandwich.

Sam heaves an exaggerated sigh and hands Cas and Jack their lunches.

‘Did you get beer?’ Dean asks around a mouthful, eyebrows raised hopefully in Sam’s direction.

‘Yes, we got beer.’ Sam holds up a six-pack, then steps past Dean, stooping beneath the umbrella to put the beer into the cooler, leaving one out for himself and passing one to Dean.

Dean grins and swipes the bottle. He shuffles onto the edge of the blanket, heels dug into the sand, and when Cas meets his eye, Dean gives a jerk of his head.

Cas’s eyes narrow and Dean huffs, saying, ‘C’mere,’ reaching out to tug Cas until they’re sitting side by side.

Sam is eating his salad, drinking his beer; Eileen and Jack are in the middle of an animated conversation Dean only partly understands, and then Eileen looks at him and says, ‘I was telling Jack I like the sandcastle. It was something I never got to do, growing up.’

‘Yeah,’ Dean says, ‘we didn’t get a lot of time for that kind of thing, either.’ His chest tightens for a moment, so he clears his throat and adds, ‘Hey, you and Sammy can make one, later, see whose is best,’ with a wink.

Sam rolls his eyes, but Dean can tell he doesn’t hate the idea—in fact, he looks a little wistful—and Eileen says, ‘I’m in,’ with a wide smile as she settles under the umbrella.

Later, Sam and Eileen will build their castle and they’ll let Jack help and they’ll declare the castles equally good. Then they’ll all watch the sunset together, and, when Sam, Eileen and Jack have gone to their rooms, Dean and Cas will take a walk down the beach hand in hand.

In a moment of whimsy, Dean will find a sturdy twig and write their initials in the sand and Cas will smile at him in the way that makes Dean’s heart beat. They’ll return to their motel room, shower to wash the salt and sand from their skin, make love and fall asleep in each other’s arms to the wet purr of the air conditioner.

But, for now, the five of them eat their lunches and drink their beer, lolling in the shade of their rainbow umbrella, chatting and laughing. The sand stretches before them, bleached by the sun, the ocean glittering beyond it. A different kind of peace settles over Dean, a peace that comes from having his family safe and content around him.

He looks at Sam and Eileen with their arms around each other and Jack sitting guard by his castle. And then he looks at Cas, wearing his tacky shirt just because Dean wanted him to, and his pulse flutters. He knocks their knees together and Cas looks over at him, lips quirking.

‘Hey,’ Dean says.

‘Hello, Dean.’ Cas’s eyes crinkle at the corners. He leans toward Dean and says, ‘Are you having a good time?’

‘Yeah’—Dean smiles, looking at everyone again then back to Cas—‘I am.’

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :) feel free to come find me on Tumblr: [gothyringwald](http://gothyringwald.tumblr.com/) is my main fandom Tumblr but is largely Stranger Things and [ersatzangel](http://ersatzangel.tumblr.com/) (…I panicked when I was thinking of a name haha) is where I reblog a lot of SPN gifs and will post any SPN content I might make - there's a rebloggable text thing for this fic [over here](https://ersatzangel.tumblr.com/post/640242570326392832/by-the-sea-and-sand)
> 
> I started (mentally) planning this longer fic that has a section with a beach holiday in it, but I’m feeling really rusty at the moment and just generally wrung out, so I decided to write this for now! Still going to write the longer thing, at some point, but I was impatient to write a beach scene haha I'm not sure if this one shot fits in my S15 fix-its but the longer one I'm planning definitely does
> 
> Oh, and, tbh I think the lady on the beach was just stunned by these ridiculously gorgeous men in kitschy shirts - [like this one](https://ragstock.com/shop/blue-pineapple-floral-hawaiian-shirt/) \- setting up next to her (and who can blame her?) haha
> 
> Also please feel free to point out specific typos/weird spelling things because I keep hitting the wrong keys lately XD


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